As a teen, the artist briefly worked at a theater concession stand, serving up nachos and popcorn for minimum wage.

“By the end of the first month, I convinced the managers they needed to let me just stay on the payroll and paint murals in the lobbies and they went for it,” laughs Valdez.

Other than that, the artist — known internationally for his epic paintings and exquisitely detailed drawings of boxers and soldiers — has chiefly made a living with his art.

“It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do, and I've always found a way to make it happen,” Valdez says.

When he needed health care and didn't have cash on hand, Valdez bartered.

“This whole thing of making work has been the entire reason and the only way I've ever existed,” he says.

Along the way, the San Antonio native, who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000, has done some teaching, “but I've always done it on a very limited basis where it didn't cut into my studio time,” says Valdez, currently working on a series of drawings and paintings for an upcoming solo exhibit at the McNay Art Museum.

That may soon change.

Now 34 and engaged to be married, Valdez is considering the possibility of a full-time position at an arts institution.

“I'm starting to think about security,” he says. “I think it's normal at this age.”

The idea of helping to shape a painting and drawing program appeals to him.